


Baby Mine

by theunknownfate



Category: Watchmen - All Media Types
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-08
Updated: 2014-01-08
Packaged: 2018-01-07 23:19:16
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 520
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1125566
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theunknownfate/pseuds/theunknownfate
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Written for a kinkmeme prompt about Rorschach caught getting emotional over a kid movie and trying not to be while someone tells him it's ok.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Baby Mine

Ozymandias knew he had botched it when Rorschach was suddenly on his feet, managing to loom even though he had to tilt his head back to glare. The ink spread in a storm cloud glower, but two telltale streaks ran down each side. 

"No reason to be defensive," Ozymandias said, smiling enough to show it really was all right, but not too much. He was sure amusement would not be well-received. "It's fine. Every one has something that," he hesitated a fraction as his mind hummed with all the possible emotions that could be the cause. "Affects them," he finished. Once out loud, it sounded a bit weak, and he had no doubt Rorschach would pounce on it like the lame gazelle it was.

The whole team had been out, stationed at different points around the building. Rorschach's corner had been the windows looking into the nursery. Ozymandias had put him there in hopes that watching the gangster's children would keep him from plowing in ahead of schedule. It had worked, but then something had happened and the family meeting they had intended to break up had been moved at the last minute. Ozymandias had gone to get the other Crimebusters to follow and found Rorschach hunched behind an air conditioning unit at the corner, shoulders shaking and hands clutched over his mouth. 

Hurrying to ask what was wrong had broken whatever sad spell was on Rorschach, and then insisting that something obviously was wrong had tipped the scale to anger, but Ozymandias still didn't know why. Something about the children? They didn't seem distressed. Whatever had spooked their parents hadn't reached them yet. They were occupied watching a cartoon with a baby elephant being rocked in an adult elephant's trunk. He could hear the strain of a little song through the window, but didn't recognize it.

It didn't make any sense at all and they would have to hurry to catch up with the black sedans already pulling out into the street. He cast around for a way to placate Rorschach and refocus the mission, but nothing worked until Nite Owl dropped onto their roof from the neighboring one. He knew Rorschach better and recognized the hostile-but-more-upset body language easier than Ozymandias had. 

"Hey," he said. "You ok?' Rorschach ducked his head, maybe embarrassed for his partner to see him that way. The blots swirled up over his eyes like hurricanes and fanned down his cheeks like willow branches. Nite Owl looked around too, and flinched when he saw the movie. The baby elephant was waving over its shoulder as it was lead away by a mouse in a red parade costume.

"Oh," Nite Owl said. "oh God." He dropped a hand on Rorschach's shoulder. "Let's get out of here before the next scene. The pink elephants gave me nightmares."

Rorschach nodded and hurried after. Ozymandias wasted another moment to check the movie for anything traumatic and only saw the elephant drinking through its trunk from a bucket, which was biologically inaccurate, but hardly heartbreaking. He sighed and resigned himself to not understanding everything and ran to catch up.


End file.
